The Carmel Dachshund Club is a group for dachshund enthusiasts to gather, socialize and network. We welcome dachshund owners, admirers, responsible breeders, rescue organizations, veterinarians and anyone with an affinity for the breed! Social gatherings take place monthly in and around the Carmel/Monterey, CA.

The site also includes a blog aimed to reach out to dachshund enthusiasts everywhere! Our purpose is to bring joy and entertainment and increase the awareness of this amazing and wonderful breed! My name is Marshall and I am the leader of the pack. Welcome to our site, launched on October 21, 2014. I am the proud owner of NINE dachshunds, six are rescues, two have disabilities. This is Buddy's Story:

It was the Friday before Labor Day weekend, 2011, and we were driving across the state of Missouri, from Kansas City, on our way to visit relatives in Southern Illinois. Half serious and half as a traveling game to pass the time, as we saw highway signs for the next town, we would search that area on the petfinder.com mobile app for adoptable dachshunds. Somewhere along the way, a handsome mostly white dachshund profile popped up – his name was Buddy. When we reached our destination, we contacted the phone number associated with Buddy’s profile and made an appointment to visit the following weekend.

When we first inquired about Buddy, the owner of the rescue questioned us several times to verify our interest in this particular dog. She said, “You know he’s mostly blind and deaf, right?” Once we confirmed that indeed Buddy was the one we were interested in and that we completely understood that he had some special needs, the owner gasped in delight and expressed that she was just so surprised, as everyone had lost interest in Buddy before – due to his disabilities.

Buddy was located at a rescue in Middletown, MO, an extremely rural and depressed area, approximately three hours away from our home in Kansas City. When we arrived, it was obvious this was also someone’s residence. There were approximately 60 dogs located onsite, some were in pens, while others roamed free in one of several fenced areas with plenty of room for the dogs to roam and play together. The dogs appeared to be well cared for and in excellent condition. The woman that came out to greet us, was the same person we spoke to on the telephone. We inquired further about the operation and she told us that this was a two man - or one woman and one boy - operation. She was running this seemingly improvised dog rescue, with the sole financial providers being her and her son’s full time jobs.

Buddy was in a holding pen waiting for us. The owner of the rescue informed us that years earlier she had come across an area near her home where some of the local puppy mills were dumping dogs (alive or dead). She explained that she began staking out the area, and with time, patients and a lot of trust building, she managed to come to some agreements with some of the people who were dumping the dogs. The puppy mills agreed that if they brought the dogs alive, she would take them – no questions asked. In turn, she said she wouldn’t call the authorities and no one would be involved but her.

She told us that she hadn’t been out to the area for a while, and she decided to go out there. When she arrived, there was no one around, so she began searching, with eyes and ears, for any signs of dogs that had been dumped. With no signs of any abandoned dogs, she started to head back to her car when she happened upon a spot where it looked as if the earth had been freshly dug up and refilled. For some reason, she decided to start digging. Dropping to her knees and pulling dirt out with bare hands, she found a pile of puppies under this mound of dirt. They had obviously been buried alive! Sadly, all but one (Buddy) had suffocated in this shallow grave and died. She quickly cleared the dirt away from his nose and mouth, jumped in the car and raced him to the vet, while doing what she could to help this little boy breath. Thankfully, still alive, the vet finished what she started, clearing his nose and throat of dirt, and sent her home with a weak but apparently very stubborn to live dachshund puppy of an estimated six-weeks-old. The vet noticed some issues with this little boys eyes, and told her that if he makes it, bring him back in a couple weeks so he can take a closer look at them.

As it turned out, Buddy did make it, strong, playful and healthy. However, she told us that it was quickly realized that he was mostly blind and deaf. This was not a result of his ordeal so young in his life, but due to irresponsible breeding practices done at these puppy mills. Buddy is what's known as a "double-dapple."

She cared for Buddy for 10 months until that day we took him home. She cried and hugged us as we got in our car and started our way home with our new Buddy.

Today, Buddy shares his home with two humans and eight dachshunds. At seven-years-old, he is as playful as a puppy. Buddy is the most perfect dog in the sense that he has no fears, knows no strangers and he knows no limit to the amount of joy that can be experienced. For Buddy, every day is perfect, every day is joyous! He may run into a piece of furniture (if moved out of position), or bark with his nose in the air as a new stranger approaches, but once he's allowed to sniff up close, he knows he's met a new best friend! Everyone is Buddy's best friend.

There is a lot about life to be learned from Buddy. Thank you Buddy for continuing to remind me of how precious and wonderful life is!

On behalf of Buddy's brothers and sisters, those little souls who perished before they could be saved, I say this:

RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE ANIMALS OUT THERE THAT NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE, SAVE A LIFE! ADOPT A PET!

Thank you to every pet owner who loves and cares for your pets! You know who you are!